After the End
by DystantWyte
Summary: After the final battle, Harry leaves for France to hunt fleeing death eaters, leaving the people he loves behind. But was it the right decision? Canon until the epilogue. M for a reason, eventually. My first published story.
1. Chapter 1

After the End

Chapter 1: Willing Exile

Harry Potter sat on the balcony, leaning on the wrought iron, flowered handrail, looking out over the Parisian skyline. He had been in Wizarding Paris for these, what, two months since his final battle with Voldemort at Hogwarts. He still thought about that next morning, wondering if this was the right thing to do, or if he was being a coward. He sighed and sipped his coffee, slipping back into his reverie.

He had awoken that morning from a fitful sleep. Whenever he closed his eyes he could see the dead of Hogwarts swimming in his visions, and he had cried, for them, for himself, for his parents, for Dumbledore. He was met in the Gryffindor common room by a very bedraggled Kingsley, who directed Harry to sit down with his eyes. They waited until the room had emptied as breakfast was being served, and then Kingsley spoke. "Harry, as you know, the old Minister is dead, and we are seeking a replacement, however, there is an issue. There are those who would wish to take this power for themselves, and they have people, some very powerful, dangerous people behind them."

"And let me guess, you want me to vouch for you? Be your poster child and play favorites?" Harry was not impressed; he had seen this song and dance before. "I thought you were above this Kingsley."

"No, that's not what I want. I am confident that reason will prevail and we will be able to hold elections. What I want is to prevent the others from trying to use you. Everything you say will be twisted by these, these dissidents."

"So you want me to hide in my house and never go out and never say anything?"

"Again, no. I would like for you to leave the country for a little while, we will simply tell the press that you wish to take a break from the stress of our current situation."

"But I don't want to 'sit back and relax'. Not while Voldemort's goons are still running around, killing people. They won't stop because their leader is dead, they'll only stop when they've all been given the Dementor's kiss." Harry was pacing, his eyes flashed with hatred as the last words left his lips. His tears had run dry; he was now filled with the passion of a man who had watched his loved ones die. He thought of Fred, Colin, Tonks, Lupin, Sirius, Dumbledore, and the others who he did not know, and the need for justice swelled in him."

"You wouldn't be, we can't waste one of our most valuable assets. Even now, the war is far from over." Kingsley knew he had succeeded. "Many death eaters fled the country after the fall of Voldemort, and have begun to grow support. We're going to send you to Paris, set you up, and let you hunt them down. No limitations, no interference, just you and them."

Harry was suddenly overcome with repulsion at the glint in Kingsley's eyes. He was being sent to be the Ministry's hound, sent to kill mindlessly whatever he was told to. But there was that tug; that call for justice, nay, vengeance. But Harry knew that there would be no Ron in Paris, no Hermione or Neville, no Luna. And, maybe, most importantly, no Ginny. Ginny was down there somewhere, mourning her brother. He could console her, have her finally. But her face also stirred the dark waters in his head, and he pictured all the men that could still hurt her, the men that had sworn vengeance on him for killing their master, and who would hurt them in any way they could. He had to do this, he didn't want to, but he had to. "I'll do it, but I'm not killing anyone."

"I would never ask you to Harry," Kingsley was glad Harry had agreed, but could also see the hurt in his eyes. "You have 30 minutes to be ready; we have to be out before the anti-apparition charms go up."

"Can I see my friends?" Harry wanted to see them more than anything to see Ginny, to tell her he was sorry for what he had done, and what he was about to do.

"Unfortunately, the media has beaten you to them, and we can't allow you to be seen by a camera. Even your image is dangerous to the stability of the Ministry." Harry sighed deeply, and Kingsley patted him on the shoulder and stepped out. Harry had immediately picked up a pen, written three letters, and had slid them under Ron's pillow before gathering his things and stepping away from that life for good.

Harry looked up from the swirls in his coffee at the boy with long blond hair who was knocking on the glass door, a tray of breakfast in his other hand. "Come on out Jacques," Harry gestured for him to join him at the small table.

Ginny sat on the edge of her bed. The shades were drawn over her windows. She looked at the tearstained piece of parchment in her hands, reading the story it told over and over again, wishing it not to be true.

_Ginny-_

_ I am leaving for Paris today. Kingsley won't allow me to see you, because of some stupid cameras, but I want you to know that I'm not leaving you again because I don't love you, but because I do. All I have done in these past few years has been because I love you, and I will never rest while there are people who want to hurt you still roaming this world. That is why I am doing this. Kingsley has forbidden me from contact with anyone at home because 'letters can be intercepted' or some other bullshit. One day, when this turmoil is over, maybe I can come home, and maybe you'll wait for me. Maybe you won't. Dean never did this to you. Find someone who will make you happy. Go Ginny, be happy._

_Love,_

_Harry_

The door eased open, and her mother stepped into the room, looking with her compassionate eyes at her poor lovesick daughter. "Ginny, you and I both know that as long as there is evil, Harry will be the first one to step up, and we both know that that is one of the reasons you love him." Ginny had crawled against her mother, who looped her arm around the girl, comforting her.

"I, I just don't understand why he has to protect me from so far away, h- he could surely do a better j- job from right, right here couldn't he?" Ginny sobbed into her mother's chest.

"Ginny, anyone he has ever been close to has been torn away from him, he loves you, and he refuses to let anything hurt you, and that means, in his mind, he has to keep distant." But in her head, Mrs. Weasley still questioned Harry's actions.

"Hey, Hey Harry!" Jacques was shouting up the stairs from the office.

"What! I'm in the shower!" Harry often appreciated having his young, what had Kingsley called him, 'protégé' around, but sometimes his exuberance wore thin on Harry's patience.

"Well hurry! We got a hit!" Harry snapped to attention, finishing his shower and dressing at lightning speed, pulling his shirt over his head as he rushed down the narrow spiral stairs. In the office, Jacques was practically jittering. While Harry knew he would be lost without the blond 15 year-old's spirit, sometimes the energy became a little much.

"Calm down. Do we know who it is?" Harry was all business now, ready to bring down another magical criminal, this one, would be his fifth hit, and he was hoping for a fifth capture. He scanned the various mirrors and enchanted maps, watching as they relayed both magical and muggle surveillance. In the center of the room was Harry's pride and joy, a huge map of Western Europe, reverse engineered from the Marauder's Map, which showed the location of any points of interest. There was a new little flag, just outside of Paris, that had been tagged in gold and orange, designating it both a definitive magical crime, and also one of high priority.

"No, sir, but it does seem like we should investigate."

"I'll be the judge of that," Harry was scanning the report. Triple murder. No obvious cause of death. Strange snake symbol found on one's wrist. Definitely worth checking out. "Alright, grab your gear, let's go," They slipped out into the alley behind Harry's apartment and, turning once on the spot, disappeared.

Ron grunted as he lifted the huge box of fireworks onto the shelf. When he had volunteered to help George and Percy around the shop; this was not what he had envisioned. "Bloody hell, what are these fireworks made of?" He hollered at his brothers.

"Ah, those would be Weasley Specials, all the power of a one ton bomb in a single firework. Weighs about the same too," George hollered back, and Percy chuckled. Ron was amazed at how different Percy was. He had quit his Ministry job to support his brother after the battle, and the effect on him was tremendous. He had turned into almost as bad a prankster as George was.

"Hey, we pay you to lift, not day dream about your know-it-all girlfriend, stupid," Percy was yelling at him.

"You _don't_ pay me. And you've got no room to talk about being a know-it-all, head boy," Ron shouted back, as he continued stacking boxes in the 'experimental' section of the store. Above him was a huge sign that read "Experiments: Probably not Dangerous," the twin's- George's- sense of humor was legendary around these parts.

"He's got you there brother," George slapped Percy on the back. The three were making final preparations for their grand re-re-opening, what with the first one being spoiled by their angry mother, much to the disappointment of every teenage wizard in London. "Anywho, I just finished the last batch of new, improved love potions, and that sets us right on schedule to be late for the grand opening!" He remarked with pride. They all laughed. It was good to have something to laugh about, especially after Harry's abrupt disappearance. The Burrow had been a cry fest for two weeks since Harry had left. Ginny had been continually sobbing, which caused Mrs. Weasley to sob. Fleur was sobbing just to sob. Hell, even Hermione, usually so stoic, had cried a little. Actually, a lot. It was mildly annoying to Ron, he hadn't run off, but he remained unnoticed as the great Harry Potter disappeared. He couldn't lie to himself too; he missed Harry just as much as anyone else.

Harry and Jacques approached the home where the crime had been reported. The distinct lack of muggle police put the two boys on their guard. They slid their wands out, and Harry pushed the door open. The two moved like a well-oiled machine, searching for any sign of life. Harry rounded a corner and was greeted by a bolt of lightning, which shattered a chair behind him. Jacques grabbed his shoulder and shielded them both, freeing Harry up to throw curses at their target. With their combined assault, the man dropped to the floor, comatose and the team began to secure the area for the death eater's imminent extraction to Azkaban. "Good work Jacques, you're getting quick with that shield charm," Harry was proud of the kid, he felt like Jacques' father now, more than his mentor.

"Thanks, I guess I do have the best teacher," Jacques grinned.

"Thank you,"

"I was talking about experience," Harry lightly smacked the kid in the back of the head, as a friendly reprimand.

"Enough of your cheek, let's go grab some food."

"Cool, I'm always down for food that I don't have to cook," Jacques joked about it, but they both secretly knew he loved cooking. And he was damn good at it to boot.

**A/N: The first chapter of my first story. It probably won't be my magnum opus, but I hope you enjoy. Reviews are greatly appreciated, I'll take any comments or constructive criticisms I can get (operative word: constructive), I want to know what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

After the End

Chapter 2: Somewhere Beyond the Horizon

**A/N: Tried to resolve some clarity issues with the POV changes. I was trying to stay away from the cliché "x's POV:" statements, but I seemed to have missed my mark. Also, for both chapters, I don't own Harry Potter, but if I did, Fred wouldn't have died.**

Ginny sat at the kitchen table, head in her hands, staring at the scarred wood. She had been waiting for almost a month now, waiting for Harry to bust through the door. Half of her waiting to hold him close because she loved him, and her other half wanted to punch him in the teeth. She was tired of him being all on his 'noble quest' shit. She loved him, and that made her mad. Her entire life, she had been independent, she never needed any help, but now, she gets one taste of Harry Potter, and she's rendered completely helpless. She smacked the table and got up, she needed something to do, like go kick her brothers' asses at Quidditch. She grabbed her broom, and jogged out to the orchard. She and Harry had played here so often, she began to reminisce, and her mind began to wander, unbidden, to dark places. 'No Ginny, bad Ginny, Harry Potter is mean, we don't think about him,' Ginny forced her mind back to Quidditch. When she made it out to the pitch, she was surprised to see more than just red hair above the trees, and she smiled as she spotted quite a few of her old teammates. She saw Dean among them, and she thought of Harry's letter. Maybe she should move on. But deep down, Ginny knew that she would never be able to feel for Dean what she felt for Harry, even when he was far away, beyond the horizon.

"Hey look, Madam Mope decided to join us!" George swept down from the sky, beater's bat in hand. He lightly rapped her on the head.

"Hey, you sunuva-," She leapt onto her broom and chased after him.

They played for hours, until the sun sunk down in the West, and Ginny had only thought of Harry, well, a lot. But she hadn't been all sad or mad about it, so that was something. Mum had laid them all out food, for when they were done playing. She was starving. Apparently crying your eyes out did that to you. She grabbed a plate and flopped down next to Charlie, and he slung an arm around her shoulders. They hadn't spoken since the battle. At least not to much, but she knew that he always understood her, and, sure enough, he gave her a glance that told her she was going to be all right. "Hey, Ginny, can I, uh, sit here?" Ginny tried her hardest to not give Dean the death eye, and smiled sweetly.

"Of course you can, Dean," If he tried to hit on her, she hoped God would have mercy on him, because she would not. "So, how are you?"

"Pretty good, it's good to see you again," He was trying to be suave, she could feel it, and she watched the quick flurry of hands from where her other brothers sat. They were betting. Great. She wondered absentmindedly who had money on the Bat-Bogey Hex. "So, I was wondering, you know, if you wanted to hang out tomorrow?" Apparently Dean had misread her pondering as interest, and thought he could make his move. She rotated her head slowly, and fixed her gaze on him.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, I mean, Harry left you, and, well," Dean was grasping at straws now. Ginny gave him her legendary death stare, and he gulped, got up, and quickly disapparated.

"25 galleons, to me!" Percy threw his hands above his head in victory, while the others paid out their dues. Ginny put her head in her hands and sighed.

"You guys are so weird,"

"You know you love us,"

"And sometimes I can't understand why," They all laughed. Ginny loved her family, the way they could all play off each other, knew each other's strengths and weaknesses. And that was when it hit her. She knew Harry better than she knew her brothers. She needed him. She felt more tears brewing, and she turned quickly and ran to her room, where she could shut out the world and wait for him to come back.

**Harry's POV:**

Jacques was making eggs. Jacques made the best eggs. Harry rolled out of bed pulled on sweats and a t-shirt, and stumbled downstairs. His body was aching. He was covered in scrapes, bruises, and cuts. "Kinda wish that informant had told us there were three of those punks before we rushed headlong into that place," Harry was not pleased with how last night's raid had gone. They were told that there was a single criminal in a small shack in the country. Upon kicking the door down, they were met with the unpleasant surprise of two extra thugs. If they had been even semi competent, he and Jacques might not be here right now.

"I know, I'm sore,"

"You were standing behind me, don't even start,"

"But seriously, even if we had known, would it have stopped us?"

"Yeah, no," Harry shook his head at their testosterone fueled stupidity, "Actually, it kind of reminded me of how we met." He remembered it clearly. It was his second raid, he was still raw, with no experience other than the ride-along he had had with Kingsley that accounted for his first takedown. The man he had selected to take on was a major head case who had imperiused young men to fight for him. Jacques was one of them, and after Harry had released him, he had followed Harry deeper into the junkyard where the Death Eater was hiding. Harry had engaged the man and two of his goons simultaneously, and had been given a run for his money before Jacques had stepped in and hit the big man in the side of the face with an expert stunner. From there, the two young orphans had bonded. And the rest, they say, is history. "Anyways, you got any plans for today?"

"Yep, I've got a date,"

"Good for you,"

"I'm sure she's got a friend. Want to come with?"

"Nah, I'm gonna just take it easy,"

"That's all you ever do,"

"Yeah, except for the whole catching criminals thing,"

"Right, whatever," Jacques slid Harry a plate across the table, and Harry dug in, inhaling his breakfast.

"Damn, you can cook. Is that like a French thing, or what?"

"Seriously? The old 'all French people can cook' stereotype?"

"I could have gone with the 'all Frenchmen are gay' stereotype. Seriously bro, you need a haircut," Jacques' blond hair reached his shoulders easily, but its gently, messy waves made it work.

"Hey, I get hella ladies with this do, 'bro'," Jacques hated when people commented on his hair. It was his pride and joy, and also the only asset he had to his name, other than his wand. Harry owned the whole house, well, technically, the Ministry owned the whole house, but the alias on the papers belonged to Harry. As did the baby, he was reminded by the rude screaming of a small child from the upper floors.

"Ain't no rest for the wicked," Harry muttered, and he dragged himself to the stairs. He loved Teddy, and he knew bringing him along was the right decision, but sometimes, it was really inconvenient to have a kid and also hunt down killers. In the end, he guessed that it gave him something to come home to.

"Dada!" Teddy was growing up so fast, he was already so big, and he could already crawl. He had also completely latched onto Harry, which made it difficult to find a nanny. However, the old landlady loved the boy, and was more than happy to babysit. The Ministry compensation didn't hurt either.

"Hey, Mon petit bonhomme," No one could say that Harry hadn't learned any French. Teddy grinned at Harry, and his heart began to melt a little. He loved the little boy more than anyone else. Actually, that was a lie, there was one other, and no one could compare to her. Harry sat down next to the crib and breathed a deep sigh. Not a day went by when he didn't think about her. Maybe one day, when they were all gone, when Voldemort's death eaters had all found a permanent home behind bars. He drifted away into a melancholy day dream.

**Ron's POV**

"Hermione, chill out, you're the smartest person I know, you've spent an entire year evading a whole army of murderous lunatics, fought in two of the biggest battles of this millennium; Seventh Year will be a breeze," Ron was sprawled on his bed, watching Hermione stress about her class list for her final year at Hogwarts, "I don't even know why you're going back. You're probably the reason Harry Potter hasn't died multiple horrible deaths. That's all you'll ever need on your resume. The Auror Academy was tripping over its own feet to accept me, and you make me look stupid."

"You don't understand, Ron, the things I want to do are more refined than blasting criminals and almost dying every day of the week."

"Hey! That's not all we do! We do legitimate work tracking criminals and stuff,"

"I know, I'm just teasing," She kissed Ron on the head, before returning to the class lists spread in front of her. "I can't wait for the three of us to finally have a normal year of school."

"'Mione, baby, it isn't going to be 'the three of us' this year. Harry's off saving the world without us, and I'll be in the Academy, It'll just be you and Ginny this year," Ron was saddened by his own words, for as long as he could remember, they had been the three amigos, sharing Harry's adventures.

Hermione looked at Ron, a tear in the corner of her eye, and he pulled her close in his arms, and she choked out to him, "I want Harry to come back, I don't want you to go to the Academy, I want us all to be together again," Ron knew she was scared to death of losing him the way she had lost so many others, the way she felt she had lost Harry.

"Hermione, I will always be here for you, no matter what," He loved her; he could never hurt her, even if it meant losing what he had worked for his whole life. Or had sort of worked for.

**Ginny's POV:**

Ginny was mad. Her mother had forbidden her, in no uncertain terms, from quitting school and playing professional Quidditch. She didn't want to go back to Hogwarts, Harry had been at Hogwarts, and Fred had died at Hogwarts. She didn't want to be reminded of either of them. She had locked herself in the attic until her mother had apologized. It had been three hours. She was starting to look around for something to do when she dug out an old trunk. The name on the tag was unmistakably scrawled. Why was there a trunk of Harry's clothes in their attic? And why did she want to open it so bad? She wasn't going to do it, she resolved, because she had already decided that next time she saw Harry, she was going to punch him as hard as she could in the balls.

Five minutes later, the contents of the trunk were spread out across the floor. They were mostly old tees, undoubtedly too small for Harry, but perfectly sized for her. Not that she wanted to wear them or anything. She had half a mind to shred them, and then burn them, and then spit on the ashes. She grabbed one and brought it close to her, gripping the collar, getting ready to tear, when she caught a whiff of the shirt. It didn't smell like attic, like she thought it would. It smelled like Harry, and it was wonderful. She pressed the cloth to her face, remembering the scent of him, the feel of his strong arms. She was lying on the floor of a dusty attic, holding one of her ex-boyfriend's shirts, living in the past. And she was happy. It was awful. But out there, somewhere beyond the horizon, Harry was lying in bed, remembering the same moments.

**A/N: Another chapter, trying to develop the plot a little more. What do you want to see more of? Action? Questing? Romance? Throw me a bone and leave a review. Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

After the End

**A/N: Sorry it's been so long, the hard drive on my computer ate it, and it took me forever to convince the manufacturer to send me a new one, but I finally have a new chapter.**

Chapter 3: Two Proposals

Ron had been thinking, which was pretty much a special occasion, if you asked his siblings, but he had been, and he had realized something. He loved Hermione, and after her little breakdown a few days before, he knew she needed to feel special. And Ron had come up with the perfect thing. He double checked that the small velvet box was still in his pocket, and took a few deep breaths. Normally, you were supposed to ask the parents first, but seeing as Hermione's had no idea they had a daughter, it would have to wait. He got the feeling that their honeymoon would be to Australia. He was going to ask Hermione to marry him. And it scared him shitless.

Breakfast at the Burrow was always an affair. With up to 9 Weasleys and their various houseguests crowded into the not-exceptionally-spacious kitchen, waiting to consume the tremendous amount of food that Mrs. Weasley put forth, without fail, every day. Normally, Ron could out eat any person in the house, but with Bill and Charlie coming home for Fred's funeral, he would be given a run for his money. Bill was part ravenous wolf, and Charlie was just hungry. Ron was planning to pack it away before they arrived. "Morning dear," His mother greeted him cheerily as she bustled about the kitchen, frying sausages and eggs.

"Morning," Ron grabbed a plate and began to load it down with food.

"Good, load up on the proteins, you'll need it,"

"Why?" Ron was puzzled.

"Today is your first day of the academy,"

"Crap, right," Ron had completely forgotten. He felt the small box against his leg. 'Tonight,' he thought to himself. Too bad he would be going into the Academy with his mind completely elsewhere. Well, old habits died hard. He returned his focus to his plate.

"You need to chew your food Ronald,"

"Mom, I can take care of myself, you don't need to constantly watch out for me,"

"No, I don't, but it makes me feel better if I do," Ron rolled his eyes; his mother was so protective sometimes. The rest of the family was sleeping in, lucky dogs. Except for Ginny, who, Ron suspected, didn't sleep at all. Despite the cheery demeanor she was wearing as she slid into the chair next to him, the dark rings under her eyes told Ron that his fears were at least partly true.

"Hey," She grabbed a sausage of Ron's plate, wolfing it down hungrily.

"Really?" He gave her a look

"Yep, be quicker next time, Auror boy," She grinned at Ron, but he knew there was something beneath the surface that was troubling her. And he had a pretty damn good guess what it was.

"Ugh, don't start; Mom's getting all protective on me,"

"You're getting no sympathy here; Mum's been over-protective of me since the day I was born. What, me being the only daughter and the youngest," She rolled her eyes at Ron.

"What are you talking about? You can get away with anything around here,"

"Yeah, because I don't do stupid shit like running off with the most wanted wizard in England to hunt for bits if some wacko's soul," She was starting to get a little irked, but Ron had to take that final poke, he had to.

"No, but you dated him," As soon as the words left Ron's lips, he knew he had screwed up. Ginny pushed her chair back hard, accidentally knocking it over, and she stormed upstairs. Ron heard her door slam. Hermione had been coming down the stairs when Ginny had blown by her, and she sat down across from Ron

"What did you do?" She didn't sound mad, she sounded worried. Ron had expected her to tear him a new one, and was a little taken aback.

"I, I don't know, we were joking around, and then she just stormed off," The gears in Ron's head were chugging, trying to decipher what had gone wrong.

"Did you say something about Harry?"

"Well, yeah, but she brought him up,"

"Oh Ron," Hermione grasped his hands across the table, "She's hurting still, you just have to be gentle," Ron looked at his plate for a minute, before looking up at Hermione.

"Hermione, remember when you said I had the emotional capacity of a teaspoon?" She nodded, slightly confused, "Well I've been thinking, and I think maybe you're right, but listen, you have enough compassion for both of us, that's what I love about you, you're good at everything I'm not, we're a perfect team. And, well, I guess what I'm trying to say is, uh, will you marry me?" Ron wasn't quite sure where the words had come from, but they felt right, so he had pulled out the ring box and gone for it.

"Ron, I," Hermione looked thoroughly stunned, "Yes, of course, I love you," And Ron had slipped the ring onto her finger and kissed her on the lips, but before the moment could get out of hand, Mrs. Weasley had grabbed Ron and was ushering him to the fireplace.

"Alright Ron, you can't be late for your first day, let's go, here's your Floo powder,"

"Mum! I'm an adult now, I'm not 11 and going to Hogwarts for the first time, I'll be fine, now let me have a moment with my fiancée," Ron pulled out of her grasp as her jaw hit the floor.

"Wait, your fiancée?" Her head whipped to Hermione, who gave her a backwards wave, showing off the ring, "But when did this happen, when did my little Ron get so big?"

"Yeah, when did ikkle Ronikins get all adult like?" George was leaning on the counter, watching the exchange with a grin.

"Literally like 30 seconds ago Mum, and George, bugger off," Ron glared at his older brother who winked at Hermione and then ran up the stairs.

"Ron's getting married, Ron's getting married," He chanted in a sing song voice as he rocketed through the house. Ron rolled his eyes, gave Hermione grin, and leapt into the fire, off to his first day of his new life.

**Harry's POV**

The fire crackled and Harry and Jacques stepped out of it, back into their home. Both were pretty roughed up, but they had been successful, so they were both riding the high of a capture. "Good morning, gentlemen," Kingsley was sitting in the kitchen waiting for them

"Morning?" Harry glanced at his watch. Sure enough, it was 3 am.

"Well I guess time flies when you're chasing Death Eaters," Jacques chuckled.

"I thought it was 'time flies when you're having fun',"

"Meh, same thing," Jacques and Harry both laughed.

"Hate to kill your buzz boys, but we need you back home, we spotted Dolores Umbridge late last night moving with a large group of Death Eaters, we're calling in our elite.

"We're 'elite'?" Jacques looked at Kingsley, who nodded, "That's what I'm talking about!" A dark look had crossed Harry's face, though, and he was in no mood for jokes.

"Where was she spotted?" Harry's voice had deepened, almost to a growl.

"It's all right here Harry, we'll follow your lead on this one," Kingsley set down a large envelope full of parchment, "Here, this is an Auror standard communications device. It's very similar to the DA coins you and your friends developed," He gave Harry a plain silver band with a small sapphire set into it, which he slipped onto his right ring finger. "Just contact us when you have a plan. Now how long will it take you to pack your things?"

"Done," Jacques laughed, picking his wand up off the table. Harry took considerably longer to pack up his and Teddy's things.

"Alright, Teddy will be going back to Andromeda's so you two can stay mobile," Kingsley left no room for protest. "We'll take the Floo back to England, but we're going to have to stick to muggle transport 'til we reach our target so Harry doesn't get recognized and blow the operation.

"People know I'm an Auror?"

"People have no clue what you are, so they're making shit up instead,"

"Damn," Harry rolled his eyes, remembering why he hated the press, "Well, let's get down to business."

**Ron's POV:**

Ron walked through Auror headquarters in awe; it was a large circular room with a high domed roof filled with cubicles that were grouped into smaller circles. Offices lined the walls of the circle, and in the center was a large podium. But the most incredible part was the sheer number of people who were swarming about. "You know, a lot of people compare it to a hive of bees; everyone's busy, and everyone has a sting," A tall man stood behind him, grinning, "You must be Ron."

"Who are you?"

"I guess you could call me the queen bee, I'm Proudfoot, the Head Auror," The man extended his hand to Ron, who took it, "Unfortunately, we had to mobilize the entire force to prepare to make a takedown, which means our plans for training have hit the fan. On the bright side however, there's no better teacher than experience. Over there is Savage, you'll be with his team for this op, he knows you're coming." He disappeared into the swarm and Ron pushed his way over to Savage.

"Uh, sir, Ron Weasley reporting for duty, sir," Ron stumbled over his words a bit.

"Kid, drop the formalities, we all know who you are and what you're capable of, it's good to have you," Savage clapped him on the shoulder, and then Proudfoot took the stage.

"All right, we're prepping for our biggest operation since the war. We've positively identified a high-value target, Dolores Umbridge, and seventeen others that appear to be Death Eaters. We are bringing in two of our best to neutralize Umbridge, we'll have Peter's team secure the perimeter; Savage and Maya, your teams will deal with her guard. Go and brief your teams," He stepped down from the podium, and Savage ushered his 10 Aurors and Ron back to their cubicle circle.

"Ron, I'm sure you have a lot of questions, but right now we need to discuss our plan of attack," Savage tapped the large table in the center of their team area, and a 3D model of a large mansion rose out of it, "Alright, we're going to take the front while Maya sends her team through the back. We expect them to be in the center room here, and we'll send three people around this way, another three through here, and the rest of us straight in here. Everyone got it? Good. Now we wait for the order to roll out."

**Harry's POV:**

Harry and Jacques were sitting on a bus, which was moving slowly towards their target. Kingsley had had to return to the Ministry, bit both of them knew the plan.

"Jacques, I know I can't go anywhere in the magical world, but you can," Harry turned to look at Jacques.

"Yeah, I suppose, are you going to ask for a favor?"

"Well, yeah, remember what I told you about 12 Grimmauld Place?"

"Yeah, sure,"

"Well I need you to go there, and set this on the kitchen table. Oh, and grab some food, it should just be on the table, Kreacher makes dinner even when he knows I won't be home," Harry handed him a letter sealed with wax, the seal was a simple lightning bolt, the one he used to correspond with Kingsley.

"Alright, sure, no problem," He walked to the bathroom in the back of the bus and apparated away.

**Ginny's POV:**

"Where the hell is he! He should be home by now! He's already missed dinner!" Hermione was storming around the room she and Ginny shared. She had been like this for the three hours since Ron was supposed to be home, Ginny was a little worried too, but she had to stay strong for her friend. Ginny walked over to Hermione and put her hands on her shoulders.

"Why are you so worried?" She looked Hermione in the eyes, and she collapsed against Ginny, beginning to sob.

"What if he's hurt, or what if he's having second thoughts, or, or if he's just going to up and leave like Harry did?" She was nearly hysterical.

"If something had happened to him, we would know by now, He's probably just got homework or something, and he wants to avoid the swarm that will invariably hit him when he gets here. I'll go check Grimmauld place, he's probably just hiding out there until everyone's asleep," Ginny gently set Hermione down and visualized the decrepit house and with a pop, she was outside the door, she eased open the door and stepped inside, "Ron, are you in here, you insensitive bastard?" She heard a crash in the kitchen, and she ran in to see a blond boy putting food into a brown paper bag, "Hey, who the hell are you?" Ginny quickly had her wand leveled at his chest. She was confident that she could take him, seeing as she was older and also DA trained.

"I could ask the same of you," Jacques' hand was on his wand, but before he could draw, she had her wand pointed at him. Ginny glared at him, he had an accent, and she didn't know him, better safe than sorry.

"I'm going to just knock you out and let the authorities deal with you," Ginny snapped her wand unleashing a quick stunner, but the boy deflected it, so she switched to hexes, the boy was starting to piss her off. Everything she threw at him, he deflected, before he quickly sent a shimmering silver bolt of light that hit her square in the chest. Her body slowed down and as she tried to raise her wand agonizingly slowly, he turned on the spot and disappeared. She gradually began to return to normal speed and when she was finally back to normal; she rushed over to where he had been standing and looked around for anything to help identify him. Her eyes finally came to settle on the letter, she picked it up and broke the seal.

**A/N: A cliffhanger, kind of. Don't forget to leave a review so that this story can be the best it can be. I'm going to slowly bring Harry back to his friends, starting now, but that doesn't mean it'll all be happy-go-lucky.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**A/N: Two chapters close together to make up for more than a month off? That seems fair, right?**

**Harry's POV:**

Jacques slid into the seat next to Harry, slightly out of breath and sweaty with a bag full of bits of chicken and bread, "Jesus, Harry, if you want to be rid of me, just ask and I'll go, you don't have to hire a freaking hit witch," Hey punched Harry lightly in the arm and let out a soft laugh.

"Hit witch? What the hell happened Jacques?" Harry looked distressed.

"Some crazy red-headed witch broke in and attacked me, I dealt with it," He shrugged, but Harry's eyes got as big as saucers, "Something wrong?"

"What did you do to her?" Harry grabbed Jacques by the shoulders.

"Nothing, Jesus, I hit her with a concussion and got the hell out of there, what the fuck is wrong Harry?"

"That wasn't some random intruder, that was Ginny, you fucking asshole," Harry's grip tightened on Jacques shoulders.

"Oh. Bloody hell Harry, my bad,"

"Damn right, your bad," Harry let go of Jacques, but he could tell he was still fuming.

They sat in silence for the rest of the journey.

**Ginny's POV:**

Ginny slid the letter out of the envelope. On the outside, her name was scrawled in familiar script. Her breath caught in her throat as she opened the letter, she clasped the counter and guided herself into a chair. She unfolded the letter and began to read.

_Dear Ginny,_

_I don't know what to say, so I'm going to give you the truth. I love you. I do, I have for longer than even I knew. But I know you won't have me back, I blew it, I ended it. I can't come running back. Especially not now, It isn't over, there are still Death Eaters out there, and they are angry, and I have to stop them. I can't just wait for them to attack me and let them go through everyone I love to get me. I'm taking the fight to them, and I have to do what I have to do. Maybe someday this will all be over, and I can come home._

_ -Harry_

She set it down, crying, Harry was such an idiot, he had done too much already, it was over for him. She grabbed the letter and the envelope to tear to shreds when something fell out of the envelope. It was a small necklace made of gold in the shape of a lightning bolt like the one on Harry's head; she clutched it to her chest and began to sob even harder. She eventually passed into the world of sleep.

**Ron's POV:**

"Alright boys and girls, we are rolling out!" Savage shouted to his team, and Ron leapt to his feet trying to keep up with the oiled efficiency of the trained Aurors. Savage put his arm around Ron as they pushed through the crowd, "Alright, this is the armory where we keep our gear. You need to grab a robe and a pack and meet with us on the other side,"

"Cool, got it," Ron was only half paying attention, he knew Hermione was going to pissed that he was gone so late, it looked like he wouldn't make it back until morning. The wait had been painful, but Proudfoot and Savage had kept it interesting by teaching him about the Auror Department. He grabbed his gear and elbowed his way over to Savage, "What is all this for anyways?"

"The robes are enchanted to absorb minor curses, in the bag you have an emergency portkey that will bring you back here when activated, some Dittany and other medical supplies, and some other fun stuff, just in case," Savage guided him over to an old tire, which Ron now knew was the standard Auror portkey because a whole team could get their hands on it. He felt the familiar tug and the world began to spin. When the spinning stopped they were on a wooded hilltop, looking out across an open lawn around a large house, Savage started handing out small blue orbs that the Aurors were placing in their ears, they allowed for the team to communicate without shouting. Ron slid his into his ear and it swelled, molding into place and completely deafening him in that ear until he felt it pop and his hearing returned just as Savage began to speak, "That's our target, cut the chatter and disillusion, it's time to move. Hermione had insisted that Ron become competent at disillusioning, and now he was grateful, especially when he saw that Savage was surprised to see him disappear, "Alright, all teams are in place, we are moving," and Ron began to walk forward. Another benefit of the earpiece was that it allowed the wearer to see a silhouette of everyone else with one in, Ron could see the rest of the team, all crouched down, sneaking across the lawn. He could also see two figures completely upright pacing towards the door, also invisible. The two reached the main doors, and one of them raised his wand and completely blew the door off its hinges, "What the hell! This was supposed to be a stealth op!" Savage gestured and the team was running across the lawn as the first curses rang out inside.

**Harry's POV:**

Jacques had blown the door and the duo entered the main hall as three Death Eaters busted out of the sitting room. Harry unleashed a flurry of stunners, leaving them unconscious, "14 and Umbridge," Harry called to Jacques, who kicked in the door to the library, catching two more with an electric net, putting them down.

"12, Harry," Jacques and Harry ran up the curving staircase at the back of the foyer, and entered a large hallway. Five more Death Eaters poured out of a door at the far end, throwing curses and Harry and Jacques ducked into a doorway, but the spells kept coming, chipping bits of stone off the doorframe. Harry gestured to Jacques, who threw up a shield diagonally across the hall from them, and Harry shot a curse into it, causing it to ricochet and go flying down the hall. They were rewarded with an explosion and screams. Harry took that moment to roll out of cover and sprint towards the Death Eaters that were still standing. The first one panicked and sent a hex at him, but he easily reflected it, and it hit a wall, creating a crater. Harry responded with a stunner and sent a body-bind spell at the next attacker, immobilizing him. The final wizard caught him in the shoulder with a spell and knocked him off his feet, but before he could finish the job, Jacques knocked him into a wall with a quick curse.

"Thanks," He helped Harry up and Harry brushed himself off, "Now listen, that's what, seven left, so I need you to clear the upper levels, I'm heading downstairs to find Umbridge,"

"Yes sir," Jacques nodded and jogged off. Harry gritted his teeth and set off for the dining room. He reached the door and raised his wand.

"Reducto!" The door exploded and three more wizards leapt to their feet, with a flick of his wand, Harry sent the door flying, hitting one of them, knocking him out cold. He quickly took down the other two by connecting them with elastic, causing them to slam together. He looked up; fists clenched and heart pounding, at the woman standing in the center of the room.

"Oh good Harry, you are a very creative young wizard," Umbridge had on her fake kindness and she began to clap, "It really is a shame that I will have to kill you," She raised her wand.

"Expelliarmus," Harry shouted, but she casually deflected it before raising her wand and blasting him into a cabinet full of fine china, he groaned as blood ran down his brow, he looked down at his hand and he saw it, the white scars on his hand, 'I shall not tell lies' and he felt the rage grow in him, he rose up a new hardness in his eyes.

"You, you don't really want to do this do you Harry?" She sounded nervous now.

"I would say no, but I know how you feel about lying," He raised his wand and aimed it at her, "Tarantellegra!" She looked down at her legs as they launched into a complicated dance routine, she stared at Harry who raised his wand and launched an arm lock spell and a jelly-brain jinx, leaving her completely immobile. Harry felt a wave of pain and exhaustion wash over him and he sunk to the ground. He wasn't sure how long he had been sitting there when he heard someone enter.

"Bloody hell? Harry?" He recognized Ron's voice, but in his haze, he didn't think much of it until Ron asked, "Did you do that to her?" he gestured to Umbridge.

"What, oh yeah, I lost it, I feel bad about it,"

"Why, that's bloody brilliant, I can't wait to tell George," The mention of the rest of the family brought Harry around.

"No you won't, because I was never here,"

"What?" But before Harry could explain, Savage ran through the open doors.

"Reinforcements! They've got reinforcements! They overwhelmed our perimeter!" He collapsed and they saw just how bad his injuries were. Before Ron could act Harry had cast a spell to stabilize Savage and was out the door, Ron got to his feet and sprinted out the door after him. He caught up with him as they entered the foyer, which was now overwhelmed with fighting Aurors and Death Eaters. Harry leaped into the fray with a disregard for danger that Ron had never seen before, and he liked it. He felt the familiar feeling that he got when he fought alongside his best friend, his brain seemed to click into gear and all the spells seemed to flow out of him.

Harry raised his wand and struck down a Death Eater before throwing up a shield to cover another Auror who had been knocked down. The next attacker saw his face and screamed, "Shit! It's Harry Potter! I thought they said Harry Potter was gone! Shit!" The Aurors let out whoops at the sound of his names, and the tide of the battle began to turn. Jacques joined Harry and Ron and the three began to cut a swath into the attackers, driving them back to the doors and eventually out onto the lawn. Their numbers drastically cut, the remaining Death Eaters began to surrender or flee.

"Ron, get a team and start binding the downed Death Eaters out here, I'll start inside. Jacques, go to St. Mungo's and get healers to tend to the wounded," Harry had shifted into leader mode, just like it was a DA meeting. He turned inside, rounded up five Aurors and set to work immobilizing and arresting the Death Eaters. It wasn't long before Proudfoot and Kingsley arrived on scene.

"Where's Savage, and what they hell happened here?" Proudfoot looked pissed and worried at the same time.

"Savage went down in the fight, but he'll live it looks like," Harry began to brief them on what had transpired, "We had no trouble taking down the Death Eaters inside the building, but someone managed to call for reinforcements and they managed to break through our perimeter, that's when shit hit the fan,"

"Shit hit the what?"

"Sorry, muggle expression, everything went south," Harry chuckled slightly at himself, "We managed to fight back nevertheless, and drove them back, but a few of them escaped,"

"Excellent job here, Harry, but you've done enough, you need to see a healer," Kingsley looked at Harry who was covered in cuts and scratches and burns.

"I'll be fine, Jacques will patch me up when we get home,"

"No, he won't because he will be in debriefing, and then he will see a healer himself,"

"I'm not going to St. Mungo's, the press would have a field day if they caught wind of this," Harry was resolute about his commitment to stay out of the papers.

"Luckily I know a talented healer with private facilities who will be very discreet," Kingsley shot Ron a look.

"Fine," Harry caved and collapsed against Kingsley, who cast a spell to put him to sleep.

"I was talking about your mother, by the way, you can come with us," Kingsley nodded at his shoulder and Ron grabbed on. With a flick of the wrist, Kingsley whisked them all away. They landed in the Weasley's front yard and Ron sprinted through the door to find his whole family in the living room, apparently waiting for him.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley! Where in the name of Merlin have you been?" His mother exploded, but Ron ignored her and banished the dishes off the table and ran back to the door.

"Sorry Mum, no time to explain," He opened the door and ushered Kingsley into the room.

"Kingsley, what the hell is going on?" Arthur shouted.

"Oh my God, Harry!" It was Hermione that first realized who Kingsley was carrying as he set him on the table.

"Harry had told me that both of you," he looked at Mrs. Weasley and Hermione, "Are quite capable healers, I hope he was right," He stepped away, looking tired. In an instant, All the Weasleys were surrounding Harry, except for Ginny. She was a little stunned. Harry was back, he was hurt. She couldn't shake the feeling that he was going to die here, on her kitchen table. She began to sob.

"Alright, you all need to back up and give us room to work," They had deferred to her expertise, and she was in her element. The Weasleys stepped back, and it was Charlie who noticed that Ginny was sobbing, He wrapped his arms around her and guided her upstairs.

"He's going to be okay Ginny, I got a good look at him, it's just a lot of shallow stuff, he'll be sore, but he'll be fine,"

"But I don't want him to be fine, because he'll just run off again, back to fighting evil, I want him to stay here," She was sobbing harder now.

'You know, I'll talk to Kingsley, see what I can do," Charlie patted her back before heading back downstairs.

Harry snapped upright. He was in very familiar surroundings, it was Ron's room. He was at the Burrow, "Ron?"

"Yeah?" Ron was eating breakfast, sitting on his bed with Hermione nestled up against him, asleep.

"How the hell did I get here?"

"My mum and Hermione patched you up,"

"Kingsley said a Healer, not your Mum!"

"She fixed you, stop complaining,"

"Fine, but after breakfast I need to collect Jacques and we need to get to work,"

"No you don't," Ron tossed him a letter, "Kingsley is putting you on forced vacation, indefinitely,"

"Dammit! He can't do that!" Harry spit. Hermione awoke with a start, accidentally elbowing Ron in the face.

"Harry, keep your voice down, people are sleeping," Hermione gave him a look.

"No they aren't, everyone's waiting for Harry to come down so they can question him, I got sent up here to get him," Ginny was leaning in the doorway, looking slightly upset, but the red in her eyes gave up that she had been crying.

"You know, didn't your mum want to talk to us as soon as we were awake?" Hermione asked Ron.

"Uh, I don't know, I mean, yes, yes she did," and with that, the two scurried out the door, leaving Harry and Ginny alone. Harry looked up at her. She sat down across from him and sighed.

"What the fuck is your problem Harry?"

**A/N: A little cliffhanger, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please don't forget to write a review.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**A/N: I know people probably wanted Ginny to rip Harry a new one, but I just wasn't feeling it.**

Harry blinked. He had expected her to be mad, but it still stung to hear it, "I'm sorry, I know you don't want me here. I would leave, but they won't let me," He looked at his shoes, self-loathing in his voice.

"Damn right, they won't, none of us want you to go get yourself killed because you can't give up the whole hunting dark wizards thing,"

"I, it's not that I can't give it up, I don't get some sick satisfaction from hunting bad guys, I do it because I can't bear the thought of them hurting anyone; of them hurting you," Ginny felt her heart ache, knowing that Harry still felt that way about her.

"Harry, we can take care of ourselves, if you want what's best for us, you should stay, we all just want you here," She got up and sat down next to him.

"I can't be here, not with all of you, after what I let happen to Fred, after what I did to you, it hurts too much," He was crying now, Ginny slid an arm around his shoulders.

"Fred was not your fault, you had bigger things to do, and you did them. And Harry, while I didn't like you leaving me, I understand why you did it, I'm not saying it didn't hurt me, but I still care about you Harry, I still love you," She was whispering in his ear by the time she had finished, and she took his face in her free hand and she kissed him, all her plans about making him work to win her back, about being angry, disappeared, and she just wanted to be in his arms.

"I'm never going to let you go ever again, I promise," He whispered into her ear.

"I know you won't, I don't want you to,"

"I'm going to have a hard time just letting you out of my arms," He squeezed her tighter, and kissed her again.

"Then don't, hold me forever," She nuzzled closer to him.

"Ginny! What's taking you so long?" George barged through the door and stopped dead still, his eyes wide when he saw them holding each other, "And here I thought you were mad at him," George laughed to himself.

"Why can no one in this family knock?" Ginny muttered, and George laughed.

"I won't tell, probably," George grinned.

"Damn straight you won't, you've seen my bat bogey hexes," Ginny hissed and Harry squeezed her shoulders.

"Well come on, it's time for Harry to spill on his little disappearing act," George closed the door and they listened to his footsteps grew quieter. Harry turned to Ginny and stared into her eyes, he looked sad.

"What's the matter?"

"You know we can't tell anyone,"

"No, probably not, I've been a mess since the battle, I think my parents blame you, and I know Ron does," Ginny giggled, "guess it'll just have to be a secret," She pecked him on the lips and got up, taking his hand and pulling him out the door. They ran down the stairs, "I got him," Ginny called as she raced into the kitchen. Her whole family was seated around the table: Bill, Charlie, Percy, George, Ron, her mother and father, Fleur, Hermione, Luna, Neville, Andromeda, little Teddy, even if they weren't her blood, they were her family. She slid into her seat next to George, and Harry sat down across the table from her, in between Ron and Neville.

"So Harry, where've you been?" Arthur asked, and the whole table looked intently at him, waiting.

"Well, after the battle, Kingsley took me aside and laid out my options, and I chose to become an Auror, effective immediately. After some training and a couple of missions, Kingsley decided to send me to track Death Eaters outside of England,"

"Outside of England?"

"Yeah, less press and less rules, I was based in France, Paris, to be exact, but I ended up working all over," There were mixed reactions to this, with the men wanting to know more about his work, while the girls only wanted to hear about Paris. Before Harry could continue his story, a bell by the door began to ring. It would ring whenever someone apparated onto the property.

"I'll get it," Ginny jumped up and made for the door. She stepped outside to greet the newest arrival when she recognized him. It was the blond boy from Grimmauld place. She whipped out her wand and pointed it at him, "What's your deal? Are you stalking me? Leave me alone!" Jacques raised his hands into the air, smiling slightly.

"Whoa, easy now, I'm not here to hurt you Ginny," He took a step forward, slowly.

"How the hell do you know my name?" She tightened her grip on her wand.

Inside, they could hear Ginny shouting. "Ginny's ticked at someone," George didn't sound worried, but everyone else leapt to their feet, piling out the door, Harry in the lead. He quickly realized what was going on and approached Ginny, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"It's fine Ginny, I'll handle it," His touch was reassuring, and she lowered her wand, trusting Harry to give the creep what he deserved. Harry walked towards the boy, and Ginny realized that he didn't have his wand drawn. He stopped in front of the boy, they exchanged a few words and, much to everyone's surprise, they embraced before turning to head back towards the house. Ginny moved towards Harry, obviously angry.

"What the hell Harry? What are you doing?"

"Ginny, this is Jacques; Jacques, this is Ginny, I don't believe the two of you have been properly introduced," Ginny could tell that under Harry's humour, he was upset with her. She sighed and allowed Bill and Charlie to escort her back inside.

"What was that all about?" George had not left his seat.

"Long story, I'll get to it later," Harry was preparing to launch back into his tale, "Anyways, this is Jacques; we met on one of my first jobs in France. A dark wizard was imperiusing orphans, trying to build an army. Jacques was one of them. He was hiding in an old scrapyard and I had to fight my way through to him. When I hit Jacques, it was enough to allow him to shake the curse, and he ended up saving me from the wizard later on, and I guess you could say we've been friends ever since,"

The rest of the evening was spent sharing stories of the past months, Harry and Jacques recounting epic tales of their adventures while the others told them about the rebuilding process, soon enough, the clock had struck midnight and Harry felt like he was going to pass out. "Jacques,"

"Yeah, Harry?"

"I do believe it is time for us to take our leave," Harry yawned and rose from his seat.

"Your leave? You aren't staying here?" Mrs. Weasley looked offended and slightly worried.

"No, I do believe Kreacher expects us at Grimmauld Place. That's where all my things are anyway. I'll be back tomorrow, I promise,"

Harry and Jacques stepped into the flames and disappeared, leaving Ginny staring after the man she loved. She sighed, and went up to her room. She waited until she heard her family go to their rooms and she pulled her broom out of her closet and pushed open her window. She flew to the edge of the property before apparating away with a pop. She arrived at the front door of 12 Grimmauld Place and tried to quietly push open the door, but wasn't successful. The portrait began to scream and she heard two doors slam open and footsteps rush down the stairs. "Harry!" Ginny called out, hoping he would recognize her voice.

"Ginny, what are you doing here?" He looked surprised. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head in his chest.

"I wanted to see you," Harry coiled his arms around her shoulders, and her heart soared, she had everything she had ever wanted.

"Really, I got woken up for this?" Jacques rolled his eyes and headed back upstairs.

"We appear to be alone," Harry commented, kissing her head.

"Good," she tilted her head back, kissing his lips. Harry gently guided her to the couch, sitting down and pulling her into his lap.

"We still need to talk, Ginny,"

"No we don't, not right now," Ginny pressed her lips to Harry's, and a new feeling, a passionate feeling flowed through her when their lips met. She shivered and Harry pulled her closer, stretching out onto the couch so she was lying on top of him. He pulled her close to him, kissing her now with a hunger, a need that he hadn't before, and she responded with the same intensity. She hadn't realized how much she had missed him, she had thought that the love sickness she had had before was bad, but this, this desire, was incomparable. She ran her hands up under Harry's shirt, his muscled chest covered in scars. Ginny tried to deepen the kiss again, but when her tongue brushed against his lips, Harry pulled back. "Aw, come on Harry," Ginny tried to lean in again, but Harry sat up.

"Ginny, we still have issues, and we aren't going to work them out by having sex, we need to talk about things," Harry looked genuinely concerned.

"I don't want to sit here and listen to you apologizing forever. I want to make up for lost time," She struggled against Harry's embrace.

"We don't need to go this fast though, you aren't yourself right now. After Fred, and me leaving, you're just trying to latch on to something. If I let you do this now, we'll both regret it," Ginny knew Harry was right, but she didn't like it.

"Why do you have to be so damn noble all the time?"

"I just don't want to hurt you," He kissed her head.

"Ugh, sometimes you're just so caring it's frustrating, Hermione is always complaining about how Ron's horny all the time, but you just want to protect me. I don't get it," She was a little mad now, and her voice had gained a sarcastic edge.

"Ginny, I'm happy when you're happy," He sounded mildly concerned.

"Bullshit Harry, you abandoned me to go have a dandy time in Paris running about catching Death Eaters and serving the 'greater good,' if you wanted me to be happy, you would have left that to the Aurors and stayed with me," Ginny was shouting now, tears running down her face. Harry looked pained, and she could see that she had cut him deep, but she wasn't done yet, she cocked her arm back and slapped Harry across the face. "That was for leaving," she hissed, but Harry didn't get mad, he just looked at her, understanding, and she sunk back into his arms and kissed him. It didn't have the passion of their previous kiss, but the love was there just the same.

"What was that for?" Harry smiled gently as they broke apart.

"Coming back," She rested her head on his heart, listening to the steady pulse of his heart.

"You know Ginny; I went to France because I had to, because they expected me to. It wasn't like I was having the time of my life. I mean, sure, it was a rush, and me Jacques had our fair share of laughs, but it just wasn't right. Every night I would lie awake and wish you were there, wish that I could go home. Part of the reason I was so successful was because I had nothing else to do. Hunting down dark wizards was the only thing that could get my mind off of you," Harry had a tear forming in the corner of his eye as he looked at her, and Ginny felt a calming warmth spread through her. "I love you, Ginny, you know that right?"

"Of course I do Harry, I love you too," She curled up against Harry and began to drift into the realm of sleep, knowing her strong arms would keep her safe.

**A/N: I'm falling into a more regular schedule, but it's not a definite thing. I will try to get out one a week, but when I get ideas, they could be closer together.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**A/N: This is a really long chapter; I had a lot of ideas, and no good breaking points, so I mushed it all together. I'm trying to bring the story back to my original plan after it kinda went a little everywhere. Anyways, enjoy!**

Ginny awoke slowly, pulling herself upright and stretching out the painful kinks in her back. Why did she hurt so much? And why was she on a couch? "Good morning, beautiful," Harry's voice carried from his seat on the coffee table, and the memories of last night flooded back to her in a warm rush.

"What time is it?" She tried to shake the groggy feeling.

"It's like eleven," Harry sounded nonchalant.

"Mum's gonna kill me," Ginny snapped alert, going into panic mode, "I'm not even supposed to be talking to you, much less sleeping with you,"

"No she won't, you were at my house last night; we had a sleepover," Luna quiet, dreamy voice sent a wave of calm washing over Ginny.

"Harry, what's Luna doing here?" Ginny was thankful for Luna, but still a little confused.

"Unbeknownst to me, Hermione decided to have a DA meeting here, today, at noon," Harry looked moderately upset.

"Shit. Even Ron will notice if I haven't changed clothes or showered,"

"Here," Harry handed her a bag with her clothes and toiletries in it.

"How did you get these?"

"I'm pretty adept at breaking into places," He grinned, "There's a bathroom upstairs, and I'm making breakfast, you might want to hurry,"

Ginny rushed through her shower in record time, and when she got down to the kitchen Harry, Neville, and Luna were all seated around the kitchen counter, eating eggs. Harry pointed her to a steaming plate with a cheesy omelet on it, and she began to wolf it down. "I'm starving, and this is delicious, I didn't know you could cook Harry,"

"I spent a decade of my life training to be the Dursley's personal chef; I picked up a few things."

Before long, the fireplace flared and Ron and Hermione stumbled out. Ron immediately blew up at Ginny, "where were you, mum was freakin' out, you just weren't in your bed this morning!"

"Me and Ginny had a sleepover," Luna said cheerfully, taking the wind out of Ron's sails

"Oh, nevermind," He seemed calmed. He sat down at the counter and jealously eyed Ginny's omelet.

"There are more eggs on the counter if you want them Ron," Harry offered. Ron bolted into the kitchen, returning with the entire pan and a fork. Hermione rolled her eyes at her fiancé.

Eventually the remnants of the DA arrived and Hermione gathered them into the dining room. "Ok, the first order of business, is, as you have probably realized, this house isn't in great shape, so I want to renovate it and turn it into a meeting place for the summers and the graduated members of the DA," Hermione was excited about the possibility of work.

"Uh, Hermione?"

"Wait your turn Harry, anyways I took the liberty of drawing up some plans," with a flick of her wand she summoned several large sheets of parchment with elaborate drawings on it.

"Ok, Hermione, before you get too far," Harry's voice was firmer this time.

"What Harry?" She sounded exasperated.

"Hermione, this is my house; as in I live here, so, I think I should at least get a say in how it gets used," He kept an edge of humour to his voice, but it was obvious that he was slightly annoyed.

"Oh, well, right, of course, it was only a suggestion," she was flustered.

"Hermione, leave me the plans, I'll have a look at them, maybe we can work something out," Harry smiled kindly at his over-achieving friend.

"Oh, you will? Thank you!" She gave him a quick hug.

"Alright," Harry turned to address the DA, "Firstly, I want to thank you all for your help and your support in the past year, but I also want to remind you that it isn't over yet, there are still threats out there, and to quote an old friend, we must always practice constant vigilance. I believe that during this peace, we need to truly establish the DA, put together officials, write up guidelines, recruit new members, and just all in all make the DA more stable."

"I second that motion!" Hermione sounded a little giddy, probably at the thought of all the research that would be required.

"Alright, all in favor?" The vote was unanimous. "I propose that Hermione spearheads the structuring work," Harry knew she would be over the moon about it; he could see her overflowing with ideas already. She was almost trembling with excitement. Again the vote was unanimous. "Anyone else have an important point of business we need to discuss? No? Okay, meeting adjourned." Harry dismissed everyone but Ron and Hermione. When they were gone, Hermione started to bounce up and down, babbling about her plans. Harry knew she would do a fantastic job, but he had more pressing issues at hand. "Before you go and bury yourself in books for this whole DA thing, would you like to help me with the house? I want to get it sorted quickly, for obvious reasons."

"Oh, excellent, of course, let me get my plans, I think we can adapt them easily to fit a more residential purpose," Hermione began to gather up large scrolls and Harry cleared off the dining room table. He caught the glazed look in Ron's eyes, and laughed.

"Boring you, are we? No worries, I believe Kreacher is in the kitchen starting lunch if you want to go 'supervise', if you catch my drift," Harry laughed even harder as Ron's eyes lit up and he scrambled towards the kitchen.

"What happened to him?" Hermione watched him race away.

"I told him he could go sample lunch, I think we may be going without," Harry chuckled and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"So, what exactly were you thinking for the renovations?" Hermione had her business face on, but it could barely mask her excitement.

"I don't know, I certainly want to overhaul the sitting room and make it much larger, and more comfortable, and it would be nice to expand the library, and I'm sure Ginny will insist I renovate the master bedroom, and I'll need a nursery for Teddy, and I'd definitely like a room that I could practice dueling in," Harry listed off his ideas.

"Wait, are you and Ginny back together?" Hermione looked surprised, but not angry.

"Well, yes, but you can't tell anyone, especially not Ron," Harry looked at her intently, waiting for her agreement.

"I know, most of them don't seem to understand the concept of true love very well do they? Especially when it's right in their faces," Hermione sighed. "Anyways, I think I can make up something that you'll like in a couple of days," She packed everything away into her beaded bag and turned to head for the door.

"Oh, one more thing Hermione,"

"Yes?"

"The contents of the Black family library appear to have been all but obliterated, and I have no idea where to begin to rebuild the collection, so I was wondering if you could do it for me, money isn't an issue," Harry grinned a little as Hermione's jaw dropped. She stared at Harry, not comprehending for a moment.

"Did you just tell me that I have infinite money to spend on an entire library?" She sounded incredulous.

"You've got the gist of it," Harry winced as his best friend locked him in a crushing embrace. Hermione's brain had already kicked into high gear, listing titles of books, planning the new DA, designing the house. For most people the scope of the projects would be intimidating, but Hermione was excited for the challenge.

"You don't mind if I set up here, do you? You just have so much more space,"

"Sure, there are some big tables in the library, you can use those," Harry pointed her in the right direction and she sped off, almost running. Harry chuckled quietly to himself and made his way through the house to his office. It was a large room facing the front of the house. The exterior wall was entirely glass, and in the center of the room was Harry's desk. He sat down in his chair and pulled open a desk drawer which automatically filled with the mail he received. He pulled out the large stack and began to sort through it. He received a lot of fan mail, and as much as he hated press coverage, he felt obligated to respond to the individual letters that expressed genuine thanks. He often had letters move him to tears as people recounted their stories of the war to him. He also got letters that asked for interviews, or his hand in marriage, or just gushed about how awesome he was. These he burned. Today, he had received a letter from Hogwarts. Strange, he thought he had made it clear to McGonagall that he wouldn't be returning. He opened it and began to read,

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_I understand that you have no plans to return to Hogwarts as a student for your 7__th__ year, and while normally I would be against such actions, I believe that you are more than capable in all NEWT fields. As you may be aware, this year we are once again lacking a Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, and also a head of Gryffindor House. Additionally, after the events of the Battle of Hogwarts, enrollment levels are down significantly. While I understand how you feel about your celebrity status, I believe that having Harry Potter, the Savior of the Wizarding World, as our DADA professor would provide a much needed boost to our credibility. I understand this is a tough decision, so you have 2 weeks to think, and then I would like to meet with you at Grimmauld Place._

_Minerva McGonagall_

Harry sat back, slightly in shock. It wasn't that it didn't sound like an interesting prospect, but he already had a job with the Aurors. One he was hoping to get back to soon enough. He knew Jacques was already in the office again, and Ron had his training camp, and Harry felt incredibly left out. He sighed, and figured he had two weeks to decide what his best course of action was. He set the letter along with the other items that would require further attention and set about to writing responses to the genuine letters, apologizing for their losses, insisting that they were the real heroes, not him. It was all very cathartic for him, pouring his feelings onto a page. He could understand why Ginny had been so taken by Riddle's diary. By the time he looked at his watch, he was already late for dinner at the Weasley's. He ran down the steps, pulling on a jacket and splashing some water on his face before leaping into the fire.

Harry stepped out of the fireplace into Mrs. Weasley's bustling kitchen. Few believed that a single woman in a small kitchen could be described as bustling, but the motherly whirlwind that spun through the kitchen, levitating pans and pots, floating knives chopped vegetables, and various delectable scents wafted through. Harry ducked under a flying cutting board and grabbed a slightly smoking pan off the stovetop, preventing it from burning. "Hello Mrs. Weasley, need any help?" Mrs. Weasley spun around, wrapping Harry in a tight embrace.

"Oh of course not dear, Ron is in the back, practicing some silly Auror stuff. Oh, and George is in his room, he wanted to speak to you," Mrs. Weasley conveniently not told him where Ginny was, but he figured he'd find her eventually. He bounded up the stairs to George's room, opening the door to find George with his arms wrapped around a familiar body. Harry cleared his throat rather loudly and the two sprung apart.

"Hello Angelina," Harry grinned at his former teammate, who rapidly buttoned her shirt, he turned his attention to George, "I won't tell, probably," they both laughed at the role reversal.

"Well, karma's a bitch isn't she," George had recovered quickly from his embarrassment.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Oh, yes, this," He produced a professional-looking letter from his nightstand, "is the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes' first financial report, which I am giving to you, our primary shareholder and investor. Also enclosed is the receipt for your dividend of the profits,"

"Dividend? You aren't paying me, are you?" Harry frowned, and George laughed.

"Of course, without you, we, I, wouldn't have the store, this is our way of paying you back. Oh, and we're opening a new store in Hogsmeade, and I was wondering if you wanted a job," He stuck his hand out, his best salesman grin on his face, but Harry just shook his head.

"Sorry George, I already have a job. Two jobs actually," Harry smiled sadly.

"Two jobs? I know you work for the DMLE, but what else do you do?"

"I'm apparently a dinner guest for hire. I haven't had dinner in my own house since I've been back. I'm here half the time, and the other half the time some Ministry official or someone is insisting I come to dinner," Harry laughed, but he looked exhausted. "Matter of fact, I have an invitation to Kingsley's for a big dinner thing tomorrow. I'll probably force Jacques into being my +1,"

"Why don't you ask Ron or Hermione?"

"Because I can't take one and not the other, they are engaged, after all,"

"What about Ginny?"

"It's a +1 invitation, not a +9 invitation,"

"+9?"

"Well, I'd take Ginny, and then I'd have to bring all of you to 'chaperone', and Hermione would have to come to keep us from killing each other," George patted Harry on the back, laughing.

"You, my friend, are much funnier than we ever gave you credit for,"

"Well look at who my father was, and my godfather. I've got mischief in my blood, it was just always overridden by the Voldemort in my blood," Harry found that jokes had come much easier since the battle. George was laughing heartily now, and Angelina was even chuckling slightly. "Well, I'll leave you two to your business, be safe, and best of luck," Harry slid out of the room before the heat picked up again and ran down the steps, making his way quickly into the garden where he found Ron launching various Auror-standard curses at targets that Hermione was conjuring for him. Harry dropped his center of gravity and began to move softly but quickly across the grass. Hermione began to wave as she saw Harry, but he drew a finger across his throat and she fell silent. He stepped behind Ron and wrapped an arm around his throat, pulling him to the ground and pointing his wand at his throat. "You should always be aware of the battlefield. You were too focused on a group of targets to detect me coming," Harry whispered harshly in his ear. He released Ron, who sprang to his feet, his ears turning red. Harry was about to apologize when he felt something moving behind him. He whipped around, his wand in his hand, silently casting a shield with his open hand and making a slashing motion, sending a slash of silver light at his attacker, who shielded, but had to drop his disillusionment charm; revealing Auror Savage dressed in his field robes. Harry spun to the side as Ron shot a curse at his back. So it was two against one, and not in the way he had hoped. At least it wasn't a fight to the death. Harry jabbed his wand at his attacker, launching a bolt of white light before spinning and slashing at Ron, who backpedaled, the force of the attack knocking him off balance, he knew that Savage would try to shield Ron, assuming Harry would try to finish him, and he brought the image up in his head, knowing that Savage was a talented Legilimens, but instead he lashed backwards, and a pair of metal balls attached by a chain caught Savage in the legs, knocking him down. Harry saw a stunner rush by his head and two others hit his shield as Ron went into all-out attack. Harry dropped his shield and dropped onto his back, sending a red bolt at Ron, missing him by a considerable amount as one of Ron's leg-locker jinxes hit him. Ron approached Harry, grinning.

"Apparently you aren't the undefeatable duelist they talk you up to be at the office, huh," He sounded slightly giddy as he looked at his wand before pointing it at Harry, preparing to stun him to finish the duel when his eyes went wide and his limbs locked and he slumped to a heap on top of Harry, who pushed him off and stood up, wandlessly and wordlessly shaking the leg-locker and looking at his two stunned attackers and an equally stunned Hermione. He released Savage and pulled him to his feet before turning to see Hermione helping Ron up. "What the hell was that? How did you do that?" Ron was voicing the curiosity that also sparkled in Hermione's eyes.

"That stunner that missed you was actually a special something I came up with a while back called a boomerang stunner, it travels so far before arcing back to my wand. It is, as you can see, quite effective, even if Savage calls it a cheap party trick," He gently elbowed Savage, who was limping and had an arm slung over Harry's shoulders.

"Yeah, its low blows like that and that little occlumency trick that piss me off,"

"Yeah, or like when a fellow Auror shows up to your friends' house, invisible, and attacks you,"

"Touché," Savage laughed.

"Why were you here anyways?" Ron interrupted.

"I was here to check up on your defenses when you were on unawares, but Harry here beat me to it, so I made a quick tactical decision to try Harry out myself. Harry, my boy, you are everything they say you are,"

"I was going easy, I didn't want to hurt anyone, or exhaust myself to bad," Harry smiled softly.

"Actually, it's convenient you're here, I'm supposed to tell you to be in the office tomorrow," Harry beamed at the news; he was ready to go back to work. "I'm going to go ahead and get out of here before I'm forced to stay for dinner. I already ate, and I'm trying to watch my figure." They all laughed, Savage was one of the most physically fit people they had ever seen. He released Harry and brought up another disillusionment charm, slipping away into the falling dark.

"Wow Harry, where did you learn all that?" Hermione looked impressed.

"It was a long two months," He smiled sadly.

"You seriously need to teach me some of that. It was sweet!" Ron had recovered from his embarrassment and was quite excited by being best mates with the best duelist in the office.

"Maybe, but not if you keep taking other peoples sides,"

"Wait, that'll happen again?"

"I have someone pop by my house every so often, but they can't make it past the wards,"

"Great," Ron sighed.

They entered the dining room to find everyone sitting expectantly around the dinner table, plates ready, and knives and forks in hand. George had a piece of pork suspended in his mouth, ready to chomp down. The trio pulled up their chairs and sat down, causing the whole family to descend on their meals. Harry noticed that, once again, his seat was as far from Ginny as possible. They really didn't want him to see her, did they? As dinner wound to a close, George pulled out a pack of muggle playing cards, and tossed them on the table, "Anyone want to contribute to the pot tonight?" Mrs. Weasley began washing the dishes and Hermione went to go help her. Angelina had to leave, and Bill and Fleur needed to head home early, but Charlie, Percy, George, Ron, Harry, and Ginny remained sitting at the table.

"So what are we doing?" Harry watched as George pulled out a heavy bag of Galleons.

"We've had a pot going for the first one to beat Ginny in poker since we were little, it's up to like 2000 galleons now, but no one can do it," George looked mildly distressed. The boys all looked like it wasn't a fun prospect, but Ginny grinned wickedly.

"They're all addicted. They think the one time they don't play will be the time I have an off day. Too bad they don't know that I never have off days,"

"Do you even know how to play poker?" Ron looked at Harry curiously.

"Sure, I played with Dudley and his pals all the time; I just had to make sure I lost every single time. It was better to give them my money that way, instead of having them beat me and take it," He smiled, but painful memories lurked behind his cheerful visage.

"Fine, but no legilimens funny business, okay?" Ron looked at him intently, no doubt remembering his little trick with Savage.

"Sure, no problem," Harry grabbed the deck and began to expertly shuffle the cards, sliding them in and out, doing little tricks and such. The Weasleys looked at him strangely. "What? All of Dudley's friends' fingers were too thick to shuffle, and they went easy on me if I made it a show," He set the deck in front of George, who was the dealer. The cards were dealt and Harry let his face set, he bluffed very little, his expression changing only slightly. His eyes scanned his competition, watching their every twitch, seeing the subtle moves that gave away their true intent. You had to be surprisingly good to lose every single hand you played, and combined with his Auror training, Harry had become a force. By the third hand, he knew everyone's tells, even Ginny, who, at initial observation, didn't have one. But Harry could see the muscles in her forehead tense a little when she lied. He let her alone mostly, deciding to focus on the other competition first. The 20 galleon buy-in wasn't heavy, but Harry knew it was more about pride. Ginny had been emasculating her brothers in this game since they were old enough to play. He grinned in his head, but his face didn't change. Harry didn't have a tell, but he faked one in the early game. He lost his fair share of hands, watching Ginny rake in a pile of chips. The boys were so traumatized by her skills that whenever she began to raise, they folded quickly, no matter what she had. Ron, who was an utterly terrible poker player, fell out first, followed quickly by Percy, but Charlie put up more of a fight. Eventually even he was out, and it was all down to Harry and George to take on Ginny. Harry had put up a mediocre game until that point, holding in with a small pile of chips. Both Ginny and George had veritable mountains of chips. George was a talented liar, but the subtle smirk that slipped across his face when he had a good hand allowed Harry and Ginny to tear him apart, even if he didn't give up easily. Harry and Ginny sat across from each other, the boys watching in suspense. No one had expected Harry to be this good. The cards were dealt, and Ginny looked at hers with a smirk, but Harry saw her brow tense, and he met her, chip for chip, eventually taking the pot, beating out her relatively weak hand with ease. She looked put out, and very determined. The next hand, Harry saw his cards, was a good hand. He faked a break in his cold silence, allowing a look of worry to flit across his face. He saw Ginny force down a grin as she launched into an attack.

"All in," She pushed her whole mountain into the middle of the table. Harry mimicked the gesture. Ginny flipped over her cards, breaking into a grin. This was her time to show Harry that she was capable, and that he wasn't the untouchable Boy-Who-Lived. She watched as Harry flipped his cards one after the other. Her face fell, he had beaten her. She was slightly shocked. She had never lost a game of poker, ever. It was a strange feeling. The whole room was dead silent for a moment, and then the Weasley boys burst into whoops. Charlie and George lifted Harry onto their shoulders and paraded him around the garden, the others close behind. Ginny rose stiffly and stormed off to her room.

**A/N: The poker idea is something I've wanted to do for a while; it's got no real point, other than to kind of assist in putting a wrench in Harry and Ginny's relationship. I'm on a roll right now, so I may get chapter 7 out soon. In the meantime, please review! Merci!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**A/N: To those who expressed concerns that Harry is too powerful, I would like to point out that he is established to be a powerful wizard, and he was constantly developing his abilities in France.**

Ginny sat in her room sullenly, staring at her wall. She did not like losing, especially to Harry Potter. I wasn't that she didn't love the boy, matter of fact; it made it worse as she tried to prove herself to him. He was just better than her at everything. But that, she guessed, was the downside to loving the Boy-Who-Lived. That and his damn hardheaded nobility. Oh and the fact that her jealous brothers and over-protective mother made every attempt to keep them apart. She didn't understand why, if her brothers wanted Harry in the family so bad, they were so opposed to it being through marriage. She sobbed quietly and fell back on her bed.

Harry was downstairs; sitting in the living room with the people he considered his family. They were discussing their future plans, their dream jobs, etc. Hermione was rambling about how wonderful it would be to finally have a normal year at Hogwarts with her two oldest friends. She trailed off as she noticed that the two friends in question were staring shamefully at their feet. "You two are coming back, right? It's important to finish your schooling, you know. If you want to become Aurors you have to take your NEWTs," she said with a slight quiver in her voice.

"But, Hermione, Harry's already in Auror, and I'm in the training camp-"

"That's just a summer thing; they still expect you to take your NEWTs this school year,"

"But Hermione, I don't want to g-," Ron's words were cut off by a small sob from Hermione, and he immediately launched into apologize/escape from sleeping on the couch mode, "Oh, I'm sorry 'Mione, I didn't realize, I mean, of course you're right, I need to take my NEWTs, me and Harry both do, we'll come back with you, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-," Hermione's tears immediately ceased and she threw herself on top of him, bombarding him with kisses.

"You are so whipped," George was giggling like a little girl.

"I, well, you see, she, I, it was," Ron realized he'd been duped, "But you'll come back too, right Harry? Since you're on leave from the Department?"

"Sorry, mate, I actually have a job, and they want me back tomorrow remember. I'm not going back for my last year, and that's that," Ron's hopeful expression drooped, and Hermione gave him a look, "Sorry Hermione, but that only works on your fiancé, I've made my decision," Actually, Harry had made a decision, but still had several weighing on him heavily. Hermione was shaking her head with disappointment, and she rose stiffly, throwing a stack of scrolls at his feet before racing up the stairs. Ron followed her, trying to calm her with only minor success. Harry picked up what he assumed were the plans for his house and said his goodbyes before retiring to Grimmauld Place for the night. He stepped out of the fireplace and frowned. Jacques had, as usual, left his things scattered across the entry way. Harry had often reflected on how, despite their cruelty, the Dursleys had taught Harry some of his most important skills. Everything from stealth to organization had been necessary for his survival. He brushed himself off and pulled on a deep hooded robe before stepping out into the night. Even in muggle areas, Harry could only go out at night for fear of being recognized. He paced quickly down the road, past bars and shops, stopping occasionally to purchase bread or meat or produce, which he would subtly shrink and stick in his pockets. He picked up a roast beef sandwich from a small deli and slid down a small side alley. He stopped quickly as he saw something moving in his periphery, his hand slid to his wand. The thing moved slowly into the light. It was a big black dog, obviously stray, and it was riddled with fleas and coated in dirt. It reminded Harry so much of Sirius. He tore off a chunk of sandwich and extended it to the dog, which grabbed it quickly, but gently and scarfed it down. Harry rubbed its head and set on his way. However, when he looked down, the dog was right next to him, staring up at him with sparkling eyes. Harry felt his heart begin to melt as the dog's tongue hung comically out of the side of his mouth. Harry checked to make sure that no one was around and placed a hand on the dogs flank and flicking his wand, disappearing into the night. When they arrived in the kitchen of 12 Grimmauld Place, Harry looked down and found that the dog wasn't at all bothered by the forces of apparation. He grabbed a pair of bowls from the cabinets and set them on the floor. He filled one with water and pulled open a dusty drawer, pulling out a faded gift box. Remus had given it to Sirius on his last birthday before his-, Harry cut off the train of thought quickly, pulling the cans of dog food out of the box. To some, it could be considered a cruel joke, but Sirius had laughed for hours. He knew Sirius would appreciate this use of it. Harry emptied two of the cans into the other bowl and watched as the dog dug in with a ravenous intensity. After it had finished eating Harry ushered it into the bathroom, where he gave it a thorough cleansing. Harry knew a few charms that killed lice on humans, but he had no idea what it would do to a dog. He figured it couldn't hurt, and was pleased with the results. He cast a quick drying charm and allowed the dog to follow him to his bedroom. He pulled of his clothes and flopped into bed, and was surprised when the dog hopped into bed with him. He smiled and rolled over a little to allow the dog to lie down next to him.

The next morning, Harry was awakened by a blast of rancid dog breath. He choked and fell out of bed, giving the dog a look. The dog cocked its head to one side and wagged its tail. Harry smiled and pulled his clothes on. He chased the dog downstairs to find Jacques eating a bacon and egg sandwich. "What the hell is that Harry?" He saw the dog slide across the hardwood floor before scrambling upright beside Harry.

"It's a dog,"

"Where did it come from?"

"It followed me home last night,"

"Are you going to keep it?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I just didn't know if you planned to consult the other person who lives here first, that's all,"

"My house, Jacques, and anyways, you're never here,"

"Fine, you back in the office today?"

"Yeah, 'bout time too, I've been getting antsy. Oh, and the builders start work on the house today, I approved the plans last night, so you may want to stay someplace else tonight,"

"Sure, I wasn't planning on sleeping alone tonight anyways," He grinned and Harry rolled his eyes. Jacques had finished his sandwich and was pulling on his coat. He had been reassigned to a local field office as a translator and operative, so Harry didn't see him much, especially since he always seemed to have a date.

Harry ate his sandwich while the dog attacked the leftover eggs and bacon. He was going to take him into the pet store in Diagon Alley before work to get a collar, some food and toys, and actual bowls, and maybe some other stuff. He cleared his dishes and placed a hand on the dog again, vanishing with a pop.

Harry pressed open the door to 'Magical Menagerie', and was greeted with a cacophony of screeches, howls, and a million other indiscriminant noises. He glanced at the dog by his side who was the epitome of nonchalant. He followed Harry up to the counter quietly, barely glancing at the other dogs in cages.

"Hello there sir, what can I do for you today?" The grizzled old man behind the counter shot Harry a gap-toothed smile.

"Well, I picked up this fella yesterday, and I don't have anything for him, so I guess I need a collar and some stuff,"

"Ah, well I can get ya' a nice treated leather collar like this here," He held it out to Harry, who examined it.

"Are these runes?"

"Yessir, this one lets ya find him wherever, and this one lets ya set him boundaries, and these let ya know when he's hungry or needs to go do his business. It comes with a manual if yer extra curious,"

"Sounds good, I'll take it,"

"Aight and you'll need tags, what's his name," Harry thought for a split second, debating, before making a split-second decision.

"Padfoot," The dog looked up at him, as if questioning why Harry had said his name, Harry smiled. The man tapped a piece of metal with his wand and clipped it onto the collar and handed it to Harry, who slid it onto Padfoot, rubbing his head.

"And fer everything else, we got a pet starter pack in the back, if you'll follow me," He gestured into the back room of the store, which was lined with more cages. Harry walked through the crowded cages with Padfoot close at his heels, until he felt the dog suddenly stop. He looked back to see Padfoot staring into a cage intently.

"Padfoot? What is it boy?" He knelt beside the dog, putting his hand one its back. In the back of the cage, Harry saw a pair of piercing blue eyes. He watched as a scrawny, tattered wolf-dog dragged itself to the front of the cage. Harry realized that, strangely, the dog reminded him of Remus Lupin. He also realized that he was going to walk out with two dogs that day. "Well, shit," he muttered under his breath.

"What is it, mister?" the old shopkeeper was looking back at him impatiently.

"What do you want for this dog?"

"That puny bastard of a wolf and a dog? I want someone to take him so I don't have to kill him,"

"Sold, I'll need a collar and everything for him as well," Harry smiled and the man looked surprised.

"Very well then, here's your kit for that one, lemme go grab another," He wandered when back into the murky depths and Harry let the other dog out of his cage.

"Hello Moony," The dog loped out of the cage, hanging its head. Harry petted it soothingly and guided it and Padfoot out to the counter again, where Harry quickly finished the transaction and stepped outside. He looked at the dogs on either side of him and grabbed their collars to apparate home.

Harry had cleaned Moony in the same manner that he had cleaned Padfoot, and set out two bowls of food and two of water which were charmed to automatically refill. He left a note for the renovators that instructed them how to keep the dogs out of the way with the runes and quickly leapt into the fireplace. He stumbled out of the fireplace and into the Aurors' office a good 20 minutes late. "Ah, Mr. Potter, punctual as usual," Harry looked up to find Proudfoot grinning at him.

"Sorry sir, you wouldn't believe that I had a family emergency, would you?" Harry joked, but Proudfoot did not look amused.

"I need to speak with you in my office,"

"May I ask what about, sir?" Harry was confused; he hadn't done something wrong already had he?

"I don't imagine you read Witch Weekly, do you?"

"No I can't say I do," Harry sat down across from Proudfoot in his office. Had he been brought in just to discuss his preference in periodical publications?

"Well, someone in the Ministry has informed them of the fact that you are doing high risk Auror field work, and we are allowing it. While I believe it is what is best suited for you and the department, my higher ups have decided that it is bad press to go about risking the savior of the Wizarding World's life on field work. They have removed you from active duty, and originally were going to use you as a recruiting figurehead," Harry slammed his fist into the table. His damn fame was constantly coming around to bite him in the ass. People were so dead set on using him to make themselves look good that they stopped giving a shit about what he wanted. "However, I managed to intervene and convince them that we need your expertise to train the new Aurors and run logistics from here. I don't want to keep you under lock and key here any more than you do, you're our best man in the office," He looked mildly annoyed at the restrictions, but Harry was pissed. Then it hit him.

"You won't need me here all the time will you? I mean, training is Friday through Sunday, right, and you'll only need logistics support every so often, right?" Harry's brain was whirring with the possibilities.

"Yes, that's true. Why are you all the sudden so damn excited about time off when we just brought you back from a forced vacation?" He looked curiously at the boy, and Harry pulled McGonagall's letter out of his coat pocket, sliding it across the table to Proudfoot, who picked it up, reading it carefully. He looked at Harry with a very fatherly concern. "You just love over-stretching yourself don't you?"

"No sir, I just feel the need to do everything I can,"

"You know what; I've been meaning to overhaul the Auror training curriculum, and I think I can make it mesh much better with your teaching schedule. That and the fact that many Auror applicants already have jobs,"

"What were you thinking sir?"

"Well now I'm thinking we ship the cadets out to Hogwarts for two weeks, set them up in the Forbidden Forest, and have you train them in between your classes,"

"I like it sir,"

"I thought you would. I'll need to clear it with the Headmistress, but I don't think she'll mind. This is a list of things that are mandatory for Aurors to know, use it and make up an intense two week course to teach it, then show it to me," He handed Harry a folder full of scraps of parchment. Harry grinned and exited the office, making his way to his desk. He sat down and pulled out the Hogwarts DADA Curriculum and set it on top of the folder before pulling out a stack of fresh parchment. First, he wrote a quick letter to McGonagall, formally accepting the teaching position and asking to move the date of their meeting forward. Next, he went through the book lists of every DADA teacher he had ever had, scanning the books and deciding that they were all equally worthless. He paid a visit to the Ministry's Library and spent a couple hours perusing the books they had that he could use as course books. He ended up with five books, each covering a different subject in simple, practical terms. He returned to his desk and began to write out his lesson plans for both the students and cadets. He finally was roused from his work only when the reminder charm on his watch began to reach an unbearable heat. He tapped it twice and flicked his wand, sending the papers into his bag and he rushed to the fireplace. He threw on his dress clothes in record time and stopped for a moment to pet his two new dogs, who wagged their tails excitedly. He grinned and once again leapt into the fireplace.

"Ah, Harry, I see that you understand the concept of fashionably late quite well," Kingsley clapped Harry on the back as he stepped out of the fire. Harry surveyed the crowd that was amassed in Kingsley's house; it was a political crowd, no doubt.

"Oh, I see, I'm here to endorse your re-election campaign am I?" Harry tried to pass his displeasure off as humour, but Kingsley saw right through it.

"No, you're here because I need someone to talk to who isn't constantly kissing my ass," He placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, guiding him through the crowd, introducing him to the who's who of the upper echelon of Wizarding Britain. Harry was awed by how remarkably stupid most of them were, and quickly realized that no matter how much he hated his fame, he was willing to twist it to make sure the competent people were making the decisions. Harry was trying to make his way over to the table where drinks were being served, because, Merlin knew he needed one. He was intercepted, unfortunately, by a group of strangely dressed old men, who introduced themselves as a portion of the Wizengamot. Harry was amazed by just how, er, eccentric, they were.

"You know, Mr. Potter, I believe that the Potter family holds a seat on the Wizengamot," The main one put forth, and several others nodded rapidly in agreement. Harry's brow creased as he pondered the use of being on the Wizengamot, weighing it against the pain in the ass that having three jobs would be.

"That sounds, intriguing, maybe once I get settled into life again I'll consider your offer," He said as he forced a smile. He slipped away quickly when their attention was diverted and slid onto a barstool, gesturing to the bartender who slid him a glass of firewhiskey. Harry tipped his head back and drained it. Anyone who had been in Gryffindor with the Weasleys, especially the twins, could hold their liquor. He felt a strong hand on his shoulder and saw Kingsley standing behind him. "What," Harry snapped.

"I was just here to tell you that I'll be fine for the rest of the night without you, if you have things to do," He said, obviously giving Harry a way out. Harry nodded thankfully and stood up. "Oh, and congratulations on your new position, Professor," Harry smiled as Kingsley patted him on the arm before sending him through the floo.

Harry stumbled out of the fireplace and into his half-finished house, collapsing on the couch and passing out. He slipped into dreams of a beautiful red-headed girl with a wonderful scent.

**A/N: I'm starting a couple other stories to try to focus my ideas on this one, giving the other ideas a spillway, if you will. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and it would be awesome if you would leave a review, thanks!**


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